Obama makes history with Hamilton County win

CINCINNATI - President Barack Obama made history in Hamilton County on Election Day as the first Democrat to achieve back-to-back victories in the county.

Obama won in Hamilton County, beating Republican rival Mitt Romney 51 percent to 46 percent. The county has historically voted for Republican presidential candidates.

Obama’s win is the third time in history that Hamilton County has voted for a Democrat in a presidential election. Obama won in the county in 2008 — the first win for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s.

With all 545 precincts reporting, more than 405,000 Hamilton County voters cast their ballots — a turnout of more than 71 percent in the county, according to information Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted released early Wednesday morning .

There are more than 17,400 outstanding provisional ballots and more than 8,700 outstanding absentee ballots in the county. The provisional ballots will not be counted until at least mid-November.

More than 5,294,000 Ohioans cast their ballots in the swing state on Election Day. The voter turnout was more than 66 percent in the state.

The Buckeye State was crucial in the election and many experts said Hamilton County’s vote would hint at who would take Ohio. Obama had an early edge in Hamilton County because of early voting.

Obama surpassed the 270 electoral vote threshold with his victory in Ohio. Obama won the election with 303 electoral votes, compared to Romney's 206.

The race to win Ohio came with a price. The candidates visited the Buckeye State a combined 83 times this year, according to a Columbus Dispatch story . The number of visits was a record at least in modern history, according to the story.

To read more about voter turnout by Ohio county, go to http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/pls/enrpublic/f?p=212:52:723969128516702::NO::: .